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DETROIT — Pharmaceuticals, caffeine and items such as toothpaste additives have been found
farther out in Lake Michigan than ever before, according to a new study that also raises concerns
about their levels.

Until now, the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal-care products has gone largely unstudied
within the Great Lakes, according to Rebecca Klaper, a co-author of the study released last
month.

Klaper, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater
Sciences, said the expectation has been that the Great Lakes’ huge volumes of water would dilute
the substances to the point they could not be detected.

Pharmaceuticals found in Lake Michigan 2 miles offshore from two Milwaukee wastewater-treatment
plants included a diabetes medication and a hormone used in birth-control pills.

The new findings are alarming researchers, even as they continue to learn more about what the
presence of such chemicals means. The concern is that the products might affect fish and other
aquatic life in ways that harm the ecosystem, Klaper said.

Klaper and her team looked for 54 pharmaceuticals, personal-care products and hormones in Lake
Michigan water and sediment at varying distances from Milwaukee’s two main wastewater-treatment
plants. The samples were collected on six dates over two years.

Thirty-two of the products were found in Lake Michigan’s water and 30 in the lake’s
sediments.

The most-frequently found products — detected as far out as 2 miles from the wastewater plant —
included:

• Metformin, a prescription diabetes medicine.

• Caffeine, from natural sources but also from coffee, tea, pop and energy drinks.

• Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used to treat ailments such as urinary-tract and inner-ear
infections.

• Triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal agent found in many consumer products, including
toothpaste and antibacterial soaps.

Of the detected drugs and care products, 14 were found to be in concentrations of medium or high
ecological risk, according to the study.

While only Lake Michigan was studied, pharmaceuticals and personal-care products likely persist
in other Great Lakes that take wastewater outflows, according to Klaper.